It's Me Against the Girls
by Criminal Minds Addict 2.0
Summary: Penelope's been in love with Derek for many years, but when he tells her he has a date with an old friend of Savannah's, will it finally be enough for her to cut off all ties with him?


_Garcia's POV_

Have you ever experienced that moment of complete and utter joy when the man you're hopelessly in love with breaks up with his girlfriend? I realize that out of context, it sounds like a terrible fucking thing to say. Eh, who am I kidding, it's a terrible thing to say regardless. Never the less, I should probably give more context on the situation here.

My best friend is the drop-dead handsome, muscular, my smile could make you melt into a puddle, Derek Morgan. I know, how lucky am I?! As I was saying, he's been my best friend since I've started working here. We were always thick as thieves, he and I. Notice how I say were. He's the best friend I could ever have, hence the reason why I call him the best friend. But when he gets a girlfriend, he tends to become a bit of a douche bag. I don't mind much because he doesn't exactly have the best taste when it comes to women. I'm ok with it though, even though I'm in love with the guy. All I want for him is to be happy, which is why I helped his girlfriend seduce him for Valentine's Day. That's still a rough subject for me.

Despite all of this, he's come back to me after he's broken up with them or vice versa. I don't know if it's because he realizes what an idiot is or because he doesn't have anyone else to turn to. Whatever the case may be, I'll take what I can get at this point. Especially since he's been super attached since he's broken up with his latest tramp of the month Savannah. A part of me wishes that it's due to the fact that Morgan's finally come to his senses on his true feelings for me. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

I sat in my office at the end of the day, waiting for him to come and get me. We have one of our usually scheduled hangout 'dates' during the week. There were unsuspected butterflies in my stomach as I watched time go on by, waiting for him to come and get me.

His tone of voice when he called me earlier today was different from the usually confident and cocky tone is usually sounds. Dare I say, Nervous. I told myself to not over think the whole thing but being that I'm Penelope Garcia, that's not going to happen any time soon.

Just as I finished my seventh game of solitare on my computer, my cell phone started chirping to life in my orange over-sized purse. I would be lying if I said that there wasn't a renewed pep in my step as I walked the few feet to where the bag laid on my desk. Fishing the phone out of it, I answered the call with a smile on my face.

"Hello?"

"Hey baby girl, it's me." Derek's deep baritone voice rang through the speaker of my phone. I swear, I melt a little every time he speaks.

Getting my emotions and hormones under control, I responded. "What's up best friend of mine with abs that could cut glass" If Morgan and I didn't have the relationship that we do have, that comment would a, be awkward as hell and b, give away the fact that I'm in love him.

Morgan chuckled before answering back. "There's actually a reason for me calling you-"

I couldn't help but chime in with, "As I hope there always is."

"I have to cancel tonight Pen, I'm sorry." I didn't need to be a profiler to know guilt laced his voice right now.

Pushing down the disappointment rising in me, I opened my mouth to speak. "That's ok sugar, your mom and sisters coming in from Chicago early?"

"Unfortunately no. I actually have a date, with Savannah's best friend Felicity, the one I've told you about? She's the one that's been around me since I've broken up with Savannah." My mouth turned to the consistency of sandpaper as I stared straight ahead.

You have got to be fucking kidding, he can not be serious! There's no way Derek would be canceling on me to go on a date with Satan's best friend. If you thought I hated Savannah, my thoughts about the she-devil's right-hand woman make it seem like I can't get enough of Savannah. I knew from the minute I had met her that she was going to be trouble. LOOK WHO WAS RIGHT, AGAIN!

I'm trying to be the jealous best friend here, but I knew Felicity was going to be trouble when I first met her and Savannah. Sadly though, I've never been able to vocalize my hate on thing 1 and 2.

My eyes started tearing up as I stared at the monitor in front of me. It felt as if my heart was being torn apart again, just after it was rebuilt. It was the same thing that's happened time and time again, but the wound felt as if it opened up again, this time someone pouring salt directly into it. There was only so much one person could take, even if it was coming from your best friend/ the guy you were in love with. All of that's without mentioning the fact he's canceling on OUR plans, to go on a date, WITH HIS EX GIRLFRIENDS BEST FRIEND!

I didn't realize I had been silent for long until I heard Morgan clear his throat on the other end. "Is everything ok Penelope?" I hit the end call button rather roughly before throwing my cell onto my desk. No, this couldn't be happening! I didn't want this to happen! I was supposed to be with Derek, not her!

I threw all my belongings together rather quickly before standing up from my desk. With tear filled eyes, I dashed my way out of the office. I couldn't be here, I just needed to be alone. I knew that once I was alone, I would realize that I was overacting about the whole. I was letting the fact that I had feelings for him get in the way and take control of my emotions. I didn't give a shit, I was done giving a shit. I'm tired of always be there for him, and then he's only there for me when it's convenient for Morgan.

It wasn't until I was in the elevator and heading down towards my car that I realized I left my cell on my desk.

 _A few days later, Morgan's POV_

The date with Felicity turned out to be a complete and utter disaster, not that I thought it would be any better than that. The entire time that we were out, she kept talking about Savannah and how good of a friend she was or how Felicity thought we would make the cutest couple and blah. I can't believe I'm saying this but I've never wanted to get out of a woman's presence in all of my life. There was a reason I broke up with Savannah, I don't need to be dating a carbon fucking copy of her.

Speaking of which, I haven't talked to Garcia since the call dropped which is really concerning. I told myself that the call dropped or the battery died but she's been dodging me since that. Other than being courteous to me in the work space, we've had no contact. I know she's upset at something, I just don't know what and it bugs the

complete shit out of me.

Right now I'm out to lunch with my mom and sister Desiree since they came into town on a girls trip and decided to visit me while their here. As the two of them chatted away, I couldn't help but be off in the clouds as I thought about the whole thing.

"Hey, baby brother, what's got you in the clouds, huh?" My sister snapped her fingers in front of my face, causing my mother to glare at her.

"There's nothing going on Des, now what were you saying?"

"You know, for a profiler your lying is shit." I chuckled under my breath when our mother quietly chided her under her breath.

"Fine, if you must know. I broke with Savannah a while back, which means I've been spending more time with Penelope-"

"By the way, how is she? You used to talk about her all the time and frankly I miss hearing from her! She was the sweetest girl.." As I looked up at my mother, a feeling from deep inside me arose. It's almost as if I could feel my heart- flutter? No, that's preposterous!

"She's great Ma, as I was saying, we've been spending more time together like we used to. Well, a few days ago, we were set to hang out after work one night. I called and canceled because I had a date that night with Savannah's best friend Felicity. Was terrible but that's not the point. Penelope hasn't talked to me since she hung up on me after not saying a word during that phone call." The two women looked at me from across the table with mixed, hidden feelings in their eyes.

"Well-" Desirae coughed before continuing on. "Let me be the first to say that I'm glad you broke up with Savannah- I'm sorry, did I say Savannah? I meant Satan instead. Anyways, I knew she wasn't the right girl for you."

"Thanks, sis, nice to know you have complete trust and happiness for who I pick to be in a relationship with." I gruffed out, crossing my arms slightly.

"I think what your sister's trying to say is that we're sorry this happened, we know you cared about the girl."

"I think I know why she's not talking to you." She manifested a guilty look on her face as she started to mess with the napkin on the table. Wait, since when has my sister talked to Garcia?! They haven't seen each other in months.

I raised an eyebrow, urging her to continue. "Last time we saw each other, I commented on how much you guys seemed to care for each other. Penelope- she admitted to me that she's in love with you." I sat there, staring wide-eyed at my sister as I let my jaw drop. There's no way that's true. She's got to be pulling my leg. There's no way that Penelope Harcia is in love with me, Derek Morgan.

"Desirae, you've got to be bullshitting me!" Now was my time to be chided by my mother. I couldn't help but smile at the way she acted sometimes.

"Oh come on! Why else would the girl hang up on you, pure boredom? You called a girl that was in love with you, who just happened to be your best friend, and canceled on her to go on a date with Satan's twin sister. How do you think that made Garcia feel, huh? 'Sorry, I'd rather hang out with a girl who I couldn't give two shits about than you!' Sometimes Derek, you are fucking clueless. This is one of those times." As I sat there, thinking it over in my head, I thought about what this must feel like for her.

Whether she is in love with me or not, it was a douche bag thing for me to do. If I hurt my girl- I mean best friend, then I need to correct it.

I stand up from the table suddenly, nearly knocking over my place. "I have some- uh business to attend to if you don't mind me." Before I could hear their responses, I began walking away from the table. As I exited the restaurant, I could hear my sister and mother say "Tell her I said hi!" in unison.

It's Me Against the Girls, Garcia's POV

Ever since the whole phone call with Morgan situation, I've felt better. Maybe better than I should be. After all, my best friend that I'm in love with broke my heart but that's nothing! Avoiding him has been a lot easier than I thought it was going to be considering that we work to together and that Derek's well- Derek. I've been courteous with him on a professional, which I'm really proud of myself considering I normally can't keep my mouth shut. Way to go me!

I came into work on a Sunday, which isn't typical for me. I'm the person that likes their time off. Gives me the opportunity to catch up on my much-needed sleep and binge my favorite trashy reality shows. I got a call this morning from one of the various tech-geniuses in the building such as myself. They said one of the main servers was down and they couldn't get it fixed. That's why I'm here on a Sunday morning at 8 in the morning.

After putting all of my stuff into the office, I began making my way towards the server room, which just happened to be on the sixth floor and off of the main bullpen area. Hey, at least no one was here and there was no chance for me to run into someone that I know!

As I made my way through the bullpen, I was taken back at how silent the room was. Besides the few custodians making their way around the room and occasional man clad in a suit, it was empty. I haven't had much contact with the team in the past couple of days. Apparently, they had the day off too.

Once getting to the server room, I fixed the problem within a matter of seconds. All I had to do was tighten a cable or two and the thing was good to go. I couldn't help but grumble under my breath as I made my way out of the server. And they said they couldn't fix the problem themselves, assholes. It's moments like these that made me realize how much I disliked my job at times.

As I made my way through the bullpen once again, I caught sight of a bald-headed man I was all too familar with as he shuffled through some papers on his desk. Derek. Act calm Penelope and he won't see you! You can do this!

Keeping my head down, I kept walking to avoid being seen. With my eyes on the ground instead of in front of me, I tripped over a folder that lay in the middle of my walking path. I was able to regain my footing, but it was enough to cause him to glance in my direction. Great going Garcia, you had one fucking job!

"Penelope.." He spoke in my general direction, not bothering to step any closer towards me. Was probably for the best. I got a good luck at the surprise that had set in his eyes. There was something else that I wasn't able to detect, which ticked me off. It was times like these that made me wish I was a profiler myself.

I didn't answer Derek as I lifted my head and kept walking, heading towards the elevators to leave him and this building behind. That is until Monday when I have to head back to work.

"Sweetheart, can we just talk about it? I miss hearing your voice." The sound of his heavy footsteps got closer to me as he started to tail me. I scolded myself for nearly turning. Just because he says he misses hearing your voice, doesn't mean you have to forgive him.

I continued to keep my mouth shut as I reached the elevator, hitting the button to call the elevator repeatedly. Jesus could this thing get here any slower?! I impatiently started tapping my foot against the floor. I could hear Morgan getting closer and closer towards me, which willed me to keep my eyes on the wall.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in love with me?" With my eyes stilled glued on the closed elevator door, I widened my eyes as my pulse sped up. How the hell did he know?! He's a guy, he's not supposed to know this sort of thing! HOW THE HELL DID HE FIND OUT!

I didn't let him in on the fact that I was freaking the fuck out as I stared straight ahead. "Oh really, where the hell did you hear that smashing idea?"

"From my sister Desirae, she told me you told her about it last time you guys were together." Shit, he's got a legitimate source. Still doesn't change the fact that I'm going to deny the whole thing until I'm blue in the face.

"Look, I don't know what she's talking about because I never told her that." I mentally face palmed when my voice cracked halfway through the sentence. Great job Penelope, way to fucking give it away! You couldn't be any more obvious about it!

"Des may be flakey most time of the time and has been known to bullshit me on more than one occasion. I believe her on this one though. I mean it explains a lot when you think about it. How hurt and devastated you were when I canceled on you for a date, especially with Felicity. That must have been brutal baby girl." My eyes were so narrow at this point, I could barely see through them. I knew the mind games he was trying to play with me, and believe me, those weren't going to work. Much.

"Something can't be brutal towards someone if whatever is being discussed isn't accurate." The elevator continues to take it's time getting up here as I could hear Derek slowly making his way towards me. There was no doubt in my mind that he had his eyes glued to my back, watching my body for any tell tale sign that I was deceiving him. Hopefully, he wouldn't find one.

"I wouldn't blame you if you fell hopelessly I love with me, I'd actually encourage it. I mean with our current- flirtation, I wouldn't be surprised. It's very hard for someone not to, especially if it's me- and you."

"Wow, who knew Derek Morgan's ego could get bigger! You must be proud of that your mind has somehow concocted the fact I'm in love with you." I bit down on my tongue, realizing that I had stepped over the line on that one. I mean sure, I was lying to his face but that didn't mean I had the right to borderline call him a man whore.

Morgan must have been done playing the mind games because I heard him exhale loudly, the universal sign for him that he was getting pissed, and quickly.

"Let's just cut the crap, Penelope. I know you're in love with me, my sister told me for christ sakes, what more proof do I need? Why do you feel the need to lie to me about it?! What gives! How insecure are you about yourself to think that I couldn't possibly feel the same way?!" My right fist clenched together tightly, my pale skin turning whiter as I stood there. Did he really just say I was THAT insecure about myself?! Look who's fucking talking!

The elevator finally chimed, opening it up in front of me. I rushed into it, hitting the button for the lobby and the close doors button before he could follow me in here.

Just as the doors were closing in between us, I looked up into his defeated eyes.

"You've caught me red-handed." The elevators fully closed and began taking me down towards the lobby

 _(That night)_

Once I had gotten home, I worked on my code, non-stop. I needed something to take my mind off of everything that happened, besides it never hurt to brush up on it anyways. It also helped distract the tears from streaming down my face, but that's irrelevant.

After working on it all day, I stopped long enough to take a shower. Showers always helped clear my mind when it was clogged. There was something stress relieving about hot, pulsating warm streaming down my back.

When I got out of the shower, I checked my phone on a hunch. My hunch was correct as I had one missed call and one voicemail, both of them from Morgan.

I'm angry to admit that I let curiosity kill the cat as I checked my voicemail, sure enough, Derek's deep voice came through the other end in a matter of seconds.

" _Sweetheart, it's me. I feel with everything that's happened the past couple of days, I don't deserve the right to call you that. In order to keep some form of formality between us, I'm going to go ahead with it."_

" _I know a lot of what I said today, if not everything, was completely uncalled for. My mother would kill me with her bare hands if she heard me say to you that you were so insecure about yourself. And now that she's actually in the same state as me, that's very possible." Morgan briefly chucked before continuing on._

" _It wasn't Desirae's place to say what she said, but if I', being honest here, I'm glad she told me. It may of not been you telling me like I've- as I've always dreamed of, but it's better than nothing." There was a deep sigh on the other end, something that made my eyes widen._

" _I should probably end this here. I'm sorry, for everything Penelope, I mean it. I'm sorry for canceling on our night to have a date with a woman that doesn't actually give a shit about me. I'm sorry for saying what I said today. I'm sorry for being a terrible best friend lately. I don't deserve you, as you deserve someone better than me."_

" _I'll see you in work on Monday, that is if you decide to talk to me. I-" He paused for a moment. Whether he was unsure of what to say or he just didn't want to say something, I'll never know._

" _I love you too Penelope Garcia"_


End file.
